Modular bone plate system

ABSTRACT

A modular bone plating system in one embodiment is a bone plate kit including a plurality of bone plates, each of the plurality of bone plates including a male coupling portion, a female coupling portion and a shaft extending between the male coupling portion and the female coupling portion, wherein each of the male coupling portions of each of the plurality of bone plates is configured to couple with each of the female coupling portions of each of the other of the plurality of bone plates.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 11/904,078 filed on Sep. 26, 2007. The disclosure of the aboveapplication is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of orthopaedics and moreparticularly to methods and instrumentation used in orthopaedicprocedures.

BACKGROUND

A bone plate is a hard, normally metallic plate that is configured forattachment to bone surfaces, across bone fragments or across areas ofbone reconstruction. The bone plate is used to provide stability tothose areas and may further be used to compress and immobilize thoseareas so as to facilitate rebuilding and mending of the bones.Typically, a bone plate is an elongated strip with a number of openingslocated at regular intervals for attachment of the bone plate to a boneusing bone screws. The surfaces of the strip may be contoured, texturedor otherwise formed to facilitate secure placement on a bone surface.

Some bone plates, such as compression plates, are positioned tightlyagainst the outer surface of the bone. Accordingly, to provide properdistribution of loads between the bone and the bone plate, the boneplate should be closely conformed to the bone contours. The contours ofthe bones to which bone plates are attached, however, vary fromindividual to individual. Accordingly, maintaining an inventory of boneplates which are specially formed for an individual or even a group ofindividuals is cost prohibitive.

One type of bone plate that has been developed in response to problem ofproviding a bone plate that is properly shaped, is a reconstruction bar.Reconstruction bars are formed from a biocompatible material that can bebent using special tools during a surgery. Typically, the surgeon formsby hand a thin metal template of the specific bone contour at thedesired implantation cite. This process is generally performed after anincision has been made to expose the implantation location and the metaltemplate is physically placed against the patient's bone.

Once a template is formed, the surgeon uses the special tools to shapethe reconstruction bar to visually match the metal template. A number oftools have been developed to assist in reshaping the bone plates. Thetools include are bending irons, specially adapted pliers, andbench-mounted bending presses that will bend a plate between a pair ofanvils, one anvil having a single contact point, and the opposite anvilhaving a spaced pair of contact points. The shaped reconstruction bar isthen attached to the bone using bone screws. Therefore, in addition tothe expense of the special tools, this process can be time consuming andrequire a high level of skill to achieve an acceptably shaped boneplate.

Moreover, the shaped bone plate will generally not conform exactly tothe surface of the bone at the attachment location. Thus, tightening ofthe bone plate against the bone with the bone screws induces bendingpreloads on the bone plate resulting in spring-back due to the resilientproperties of the bone plate. Additionally, gaps may be present betweenthe bone plate and the bone resulting in an uneven transfer of load fromthe plate to the bone. Consequently, the bone screw may break or stripaway from the bone resulting in loss of fracture reduction, bonemisalignment, extended healing time or corrective surgeries.

Therefore, a need exists for a bone plate that can easily be conformedto the shape of a patient's bone. A further need exists for a bone platethat does not require a large number of special tools and which is easyto manufacture.

SUMMARY

Orthopaedic instrumentation and a method of manufacturing theinstrumentation is disclosed. In one embodiment, a modular bone plateincludes a male snap-fit coupling portion, a female snap-fit couplingportion, and a shaft extending between the male coupling portion and thefemale coupling portion, the shaft including a bottom bone contactingsurface and an upper surface opposite the bone contacting surface.

In a further embodiment a bone plate kit includes a plurality of boneplates, each of the plurality of bone plates including a male couplingportion, a female coupling portion and a shaft extending between themale coupling portion and the female coupling portion, wherein each ofthe male coupling portions of each of the plurality of bone plates isconfigured to couple with each of the female coupling portions of eachof the other of the plurality of bone plates.

A method of constructing a bone plate includes aligning a male couplingportion of a first bone plate module with a female coupling portion of asecond bone plate module, compressing a taper of the male couplingportion, inserting the compressed taper into the female couplingportion, rigidly coupling the first bone plate module with the secondbone plate module, placing the rigidly coupled first bone plate moduleand second bone plate module on the surface of a bone, inserting aportion of a fastener through the male coupling portion and attachingthe rigidly coupled first bone plate module and second bone plate moduleto the surface of a bone with the fastener

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a bone plate module with a malecoupling portion and a female coupling portion in accordance withprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of the bone plate module of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 depicts a top plan view of the bone plate module of FIG. 1 thatcan be coupled with another bone plate module;

FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of a bone plate module that can becoupled with the bone plate module of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5. depicts a top plan view of the bone plate module of FIG. 1coupled with the bone plate module of FIG. 4 to form a straight portionof a bone plate;

FIG. 6 depicts a partial cross sectional view of the bone plate moduleof FIG. 1 coupled with the bone plate module of FIG. 4

FIG. 7 depicts the bone plate modules of FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 coupledtogether to form an angled portion of a bone plate;

FIG. 8 depicts a top plan view of the angled bone plate modules of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 depicts a top plane view of the bone plate modules of FIG. 4 andFIG. 1 coupled together to form a portion of a bone plate that is angledmore than the angled portion shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 depicts the bone plate modules of FIG. 4 and FIG. 1 rigidlycoupled together to form an angled portion of a bone plate with afastener inserted through the male coupling portion of one bone platemodule and another fastener inserted through the female coupling portionof the second bone plate modules and through a male end cap.

FIG. 11 depicts the end cap of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 depicts a female end cap that may be used with the male couplingportion of the bone plate module of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 13 and 14 show views of a decoupler that may be used to decoupletwo rigidly coupled bone plate modules;

FIG. 15 depicts the decoupler of FIGS. 13 and 14 positioned along theshaft of the bone plate module shown in FIG. 1 so as to decouple thebone plate modules of FIG. 4 and FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 16-21 depict various alternative configurations of bone platemodules with coupling portion in accordance with principles of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a bone plate module 100. The bone plate module 100 includesa shaft 102 extending between two end portions 104 and 106. A malecoupling portion 108 is positioned at the end portion 104 and a femalecoupling portion 110 is positioned at the end portion 106. Two notches112 and 114 are located on the end portion 104 next to the male couplingportion 108. The end portion 104 terminates at a curved outer perimeter116 and the end portion 106 terminates at a curved outer perimeter 118.

The male coupling portion 108 includes a taper 120 which extendsupwardly from a plateau 122. A ridge 124 extends around the perimeter ofand outwardly from the taper 120. Two slots 126 and 128 are formed inthe taper 120 and the ridge 124. The inner surface 130 of the taper 120curves downwardly and inwardly to a threaded portion 132 as shown inFIG. 2.

Two rotation stops 134 and 136 are located at one end of the shaft 102near the male coupling portion 108. Referring to FIG. 3, the shaft 102includes side walls 138 and 140 which extend from the end portion 104 tothe end portion 106. An inwardly curved wall 142 is located at the endof the shaft 106 nearest the end portion 104 and extends downwardly fromthe upper surface 144 of the bone plate module 100. Another inwardlycurved wall 146 which is located at the end of the shaft 106 nearest theend portion 106 extends upwardly from the bottom surface 148 of the boneplate module 100.

The female coupling portion 110 includes a bore 150 which extendsdownwardly from the upper surface 144 and opens to an overhang 152. Theoverhang 152 is located between the curved wall 146 and the outerperimeter 118. A groove 154 extends about the perimeter of the bore 150.

The bore 150 is sized to be slightly smaller in diameter than thediameter of the taper 120. The groove 154, which is sized complementaryto the ridge 124, is located at a distance away from the opening of thebore 150 to the overhang 152 that is about the same as the distance atwhich the ridge 124 is positioned on the taper 120 above the plateau122. Additionally, the curvature of the inwardly curved wall 146 iscomplementary to the curvature of the outer perimeter 116 and thecurvature of the inwardly curved wall 142 is complementary to thecurvature of the outer perimeter 118.

The complementary configuration of the end portion 104 and the endportion 106 along with the configuration of the male coupling portion108 and the female coupling portion 110 allow two or more bone platemodules like the bone plate module 100 to be rigidly coupled. By way ofexample, FIG. 4 shows a bone plate module 200 which is identical to thebone plate module 100 in all respects. The bone plate module 100 and thebone plate module 200 may be rigidly coupled as shown in FIG. 5.

Coupling of the bone plate module 100 with the bone plate module 200 toobtain the bone plate 156 shown in FIG. 5 is accomplished by aligningthe male coupling portion 202 of the bone plate module 200 with thefemale coupling portion 110 of the bone plate module 100. The malecoupling portion 202 and the female coupling portion 110 are thenpressed together. The diameter of the bore 150 is slightly smaller thanthe diameter of the taper 204. Accordingly, the taper 204 is placedunder a compressive force.

The bone plate module 200 is made from a biocompatible material. Suchmaterials include stainless steel, titanium alloy and polymers. Thesematerials exhibit some amount of flexibility when formed with a thincross section. Thus, the thin walls of the taper 204, particularly atthe upper portion of the taper 204, allow the taper 204 to flexinwardly. Moreover, the slots 206 and 208 allow additional flexure.Depending upon the materials used and the particular design, more, feweror even no slots may be incorporated.

Inward flexure of the taper 204 allows the taper 204 to slide into thebore 150. As the ridge 210 contacts the opening of the bore 150 to theoverlap 152, additional force is required to flex the taper 204 fartherin the inward direction so that the ridge 210 can enter into the bore150. As the taper 204 is inserted more fully into the bore 150, theridge 210 aligns with the groove 154. The increased diameter of thegroove 154 compared to the remainder of the bore 150 allows the taper204 to flex outwardly, thereby forcing the ridge 210 into the groove 154resulting in the configuration shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, the ridge 210 is located within the groove 154 and theportion of the bone plate module 100 between the bore 150 and the outerperimeter 118 fits within the gap between the taper 204 and the inwardlycurved wall 212. Additionally, the overhang 152 rests upon the plateau214 and the outer perimeter 216 is adjacent to the inwardly curved wall142. Additionally, the bottom surface 218 of the bone plate module 200is aligned with the bottom surface 148 of the bone plate module 100.Accordingly since the snap-fit provided in this embodiment results in arigid connection between the module 100 and the module 200, thecombination of the bone plate module 100 and the bone plate module 200provides a single straight bone plate 156.

As described above, the curvature of the inwardly curved wall 146 iscomplementary to the curvature of the outer perimeter 116 and thecurvature of the inwardly curved wall 142 is complementary to thecurvature of the outer perimeter 118. Thus, since the bone plate module200 is identical to the bone plate module 100, the bone plate modules100 and 200 may be coupled at an angle to each other. As shown in FIGS.7 and 8, the bone plate modules 100 and 200 may be used to build anangled bone plate 158. This is accomplished by aligning the malecoupling portion 202 of the bone plate module 200 with the femalecoupling portion 110 of the bone plate module 100 such that thelongitudinal axis 161 of the plate 100 is set at the angle α withrespect to the longitudinal axis 220 of the plate 200 and then pressingthe bone plate modules 100 and 200 together in the manner discussedabove with respect to the bone plate 156.

The bone plate modules 100 and 200 are not constrained to forming a boneplate with a single angle. For example, in the bone plate 160 shown inFIG. 9, the longitudinal axis 162 of the plate 100 is set at an angle βwith respect to the longitudinal axis 220 of the plate 200 that islarger than the angle α. The range of angles which can be formed in thisembodiment is limited in one direction by the rotation stop 222 whichimpinges on the side wall 140 and in the other direction by the rotationstop 224 which impinges on the side wall 138.

FIG. 10 shows a bone plate 170 that includes bone plate modules 100 and200 and a male end cap 178. The bone plate 170 may be fastened to a boneusing bone screws 172 and 174. The bone screw 172 is inserted throughthe taper 120. The head 176 of the bone screw 172 may be threaded toengage the threaded portion 132 of the taper 120. The threaded portion132 may be triple lead threaded to provide for use of both locking andnon-locking screws. A compression screw may be used either with orwithout a threaded portion 132.

The screw 174 extends through the bore 226. The bore 226, however, hasno threads to engage the screw 174. The male end cap 178, however, isthreaded as shown in FIG. 11. Specifically, the male end cap 178includes a male coupling portion 180 with a threaded portion 182 thatextends upwardly from a plateau 184. Two notches 186 and 188 areprovided in the plateau 184. A base 190 includes a bottom that is formedin like manner to the bottom surface 148 of the bone plate 100.

The base 190 has a curved outer perimeter portion 192 that issubstantially identical to the outer perimeter 118 and another curvedouter perimeter portion 194 that is complementary to the inwardly curvedwall 146. Thus, when the male end cap 178 is installed as shown in FIG.10, the end portion of the bone plate module 200 is supported as if thebone plate module 200 were coupled with the male coupling portion ofanother bone plate module. Additionally, the bottom surface of the boneplate 170 provides a uniform contact surface from one end of the plate170 to the opposites end.

FIG. 12 shows a female end cap 240 that may be used with the bone platemodules 100 and 200. The female end cap 240 includes a female couplingportion 242 with a bore 244 that extends through the female end cap 240.A groove 246 extends around the groove 246. The female end cap 240 has acurved outer perimeter portion 248 that is substantially identical tothe outer perimeter 116 and a curved outer perimeter portion 250 that iscomplementary to the inwardly curved wall 142.

Thus, when the female end cap 240 is installed on the male couplingportion 108, the upper surface of the bone plate 170 provides a uniformupper surface, thereby reducing the potential for irritation to softtissue adjacent to the plate 170. Additionally, any male couplingportions that are not filled with a screw may be filled, for example,with a threaded plug.

A decoupler 260 is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 that may be used to bedecouple two bone plate modules. The decoupler 260 includes a shaft 262and a yoke 264. Two stubs 266 and 268 are provided on arms 270 and 272,respectively. The arms 270 and 272 are spaced apart by a distance whichis approximately equal to the width of the bone plate module. The stubs266 and 268 are canted with respect to the shaft 262 and are sizedslightly smaller than the notches of the bone plate module with whichthe decoupler 260 is to be used.

Operation of the decoupler 260 is explained with further reference toFIG. 15. In this example, the decoupler 260 will be used to decouple thebone plate 180 which was formed by coupling the bone plate modules 100and 200. Initially the decoupler 260 is placed generally perpendicularlyto the bone plate module 100 and the yoke 264 moved toward the uppersurface 144 of the bone plate module. As noted above, the arms 270 and272 are separated by about the same distance as the width of the boneplate module 100. Accordingly, the distance between the stubs 266 and268 is shorter than the width of the bone plate module 100. Therefore,pushing the yoke 264 toward the bone plate module 100 forces the stubs266 and 268 against the bone plate module 100 causing the arms 270 and272 to flex apart thereby allowing the stubs 266 and 268 to slide alongsidewalls 138 and 140.

As the stubs 266 and 268 approach the notches 114 and 112, the shaft 262is moved toward a more parallel position with respect to the bone platemodule 100. This movement brings the canted stubs 266 and 268 intoalignment with the notches 114 and 112. Once aligned the yoke 264 flexestoward its original shape thereby forcing the stubs 266 and 268 into thenotches 114 and 112, respectively. The cant of the stubs 266 and 268with respect to the shaft 262 ensures that the stubs 266 and 268 enterthe notches 114 and 112 before the shaft 262 of the decoupler 260 is incontact with the upper surface 144 of the bone plate module 100.

Additionally, the arms 270 and 272 are sized such that as the stubs 266and 268 enter the notches 114 and 112, the yoke 264 is close to, if nottouching, the upper surface 144 of the bone plate module 100.Application of force to the shaft 262 thus causes the yoke 264 tocontact the bone plate module 100 and provide a pivot point for thedecoupler 260. Pressure on the shaft 262 thus forces the stubs 266 and268 against the female coupling portion of the bone plate module 200thereby forcing the groove of the bone plate 200 against the ridge 124thereby flexing the taper 120 inwardly. As the ridge 124 exits thegroove of the bone plate module 200, the bone plate module 200 may belifter clear of the bone plate module 100.

A kit may include a number of bone plate modules, male end caps, femaleend caps and a decoupler. Additionally, a template may be provided toassist the surgeon in determining the desired number and orientation ofbone plate modules to be used to form a bone plate. In one embodiment,bone plate modules are provided in various lengths. For example, onegroup of bone plate modules may have a length of about 25 millimeterswhile a second group has a length of about 30 millimeters, andadditional groups may have larger lengths. A bone plate module with alength of about 25 millimeters provides sufficient length to incorporateboth a male and a female coupling portion of a size that provides arobust coupling force to obtain a bone plate with the desired rigidity.

FIGS. 16-21 show various bone plate modules that may be provided eitherseparately or in a kit with other bone plate modules. FIG. 16 shows a“Y” shaped bone plate module 300 that includes two female couplingportions 302 located at end portions 304 and 306 and one male couplingportion 308 at an end portion 310. Alternatively, the bone plate module300 may include two male coupling portions, all female coupling portionsor all male coupling portions. A shaft 312 extends between each of theend portions 304, 306 and 310.

The end portions 304 and 306 have the same configuration as the endportion 106 and the end portion 310 has the same configuration as theend portion 104. Likewise, the female coupling portions 302 and the malecoupling portion 308 have the same configuration as the female couplingportion 110 and the male coupling portion 108, respectively.Additionally, the shaft 312, at each end portion 304, 306 and 310, hasthe same configuration as the shaft 102 for the corresponding couplingportion. Thus, since the end portion 310 has a male coupling portion 308and the end portion 104 of FIG. 1 has a male coupling portion 108, theshaft 312 includes an inwardly curved wall 314 at the end portion 310that has the same configuration as the inwardly curved wall 142 of FIG.1.

Accordingly, the bone plate module 300 may be used with the bone platemodules 100 and 200, the male end cap 178 and female end cap 240.Additionally, the decoupler 260 may be used with the bone plate module300. Finally, the bone plate modules 100, 200 or another bone platemodule 300 may be coupled to either of the female coupling portions 302or the male coupling portion 308 in the same manner that the bone plates100 and 200 may be coupled together.

Other bone plate modules include the “S” shaped bone plate module 320 ofFIG. 17, the “T” shaped bone module 322 of FIG. 18 which is configuredwith three female coupling portions 324, the “T” shaped bone module 326of FIG. 19 which is configured with three male coupling portions 328,the curved bone plate module 330 of FIG. 20 and the cross shaped boneplate module 332 of FIG. 21. Each of these bone plate modules, as wellas bone plate modules of other shapes, may be configured with variouscombinations of coupling portions and in various sizes to allow a boneplate to be quickly and easily configured for a particular patient.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description ofexemplary processes and system components, and while the variousprocesses and components have been described in considerable detail, theapplicants do not intend to restrict or in any way limit the scope ofthe appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages andmodifications will also readily appear to those ordinarily skilled inthe art. The invention in its broadest aspects is therefore not limitedto the specific details, implementations, or illustrative examples shownand described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such detailswithout departing from the spirit or scope of the applicants' generalinventive concept.

We claim:
 1. A method of constructing a bone plate comprising: aligninga first male coupling portion of a first bone plate module with a firstfemale coupling portion of a second bone plate module; compressing afirst taper of the first male coupling portion; inserting the compressedfirst taper into the first female coupling portion; rigidly coupling thefirst bone plate module with the second bone plate module; placing therigidly coupled first bone plate module and second bone plate module ona surface of a bone; inserting a portion of a first fastener through asecond male coupling portion of the second bone plate module; andattaching the rigidly coupled first bone plate module and second boneplate module to the surface of the bone with the first fastener.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining the desired angularalignment of the first bone plate module and the second bone platemodule; placing the first bone plate module at the desired angularalignment with respect to the second bone plate module; and maintainingthe first bone plate module at the desired angular alignment with thesecond bone plate module while rigidly coupling the first bone platemodule with the second bone plate module.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: locking the first fastener to the second malecoupling portion by engaging a threaded portion of the second malecoupling portion with a threaded portion of the first fastener.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: inserting a ridge of the firstmale coupling portion into a groove of the first female couplingportion.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein rigidly coupling the firstbone plate module with the second bone plate module includes rigidlycoupling the first bone plate module with the second bone plate modulesuch that a bottom surface of the second bone plate module is alignedwith a bottom surface of the first bone plate module, the bottomsurfaces configured to be placed on the surface of the bone.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: aligning a third male couplingportion of a third bone plate module with a second female couplingportion of the first bone plate module; compressing a second taper ofthe third male coupling portion; inserting the compressed second taperinto the second female coupling portion; rigidly coupling the first boneplate module with the third bone plate module; placing the rigidlycoupled first bone plate module and third plate module on the surface ofthe bone; inserting a portion of a second fastener through a thirdfemale coupling portion of the third bone plate; and attaching therigidly coupled first bone plate module and third plate module to thesurface of the bone with the second fastener.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: aligning a third male coupling portion of a boneplate end cap with a second female coupling portion of the first boneplate module; compressing a second taper of the third male couplingportion; inserting the compressed second taper into the second femalecoupling portion; and rigidly coupling the first bone plate module withthe bone plate end cap.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein rigidlycoupling the first bone plate module with the bone plate end capincludes rigidly coupling the first bone plate module with the boneplate end cap such that a bottom surface of the first bone plate moduleis aligned with a bottom surface of the bone plate end cap, the bottomsurfaces configured to be placed on the surface of the bone.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising positioning a recessed area of thesecond bone plate module adjacent the first female coupling portionrelative to a plateau area surrounding the first male coupling portionof the first bone plate module.
 10. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising positioning a concave curved outer perimeter of an end of thesecond bone plate module adjacent the first female coupling portionadjacent to an inwardly curved wall of the first bone plate moduleadjacent the male coupling portion, wherein a curvature of the outerperimeter of the end of the second bone plate module is complimentary toa curvature of the inwardly curved wall of the first bone plate module.11. A method of constructing a bone plate comprising: determining adesired angular alignment of a first bone plate module relative to asecond bone plate module; positioning the first and second bone platemodules at the desired angular alignment while aligning a first malecoupling portion of the first bone plate module with a first femalecoupling portion of a second bone plate module; compressing a firsttaper of the first male coupling portion; inserting the compressed firsttaper into the first female coupling portion; maintaining the first boneplate module at the desired angular alignment while rigidly coupling thefirst bone plate module with the second bone plate module; placing therigidly coupled first bone plate module and second bone plate module ona surface of a bone; inserting a portion of a first fastener through asecond male coupling portion of the second bone plate module; andattaching the rigidly coupled first bone plate module and second boneplate module to the surface of the bone with the first fastener.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: inserting a portion of a secondfastener through a second female coupling portion of the first boneplate module.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: lockingthe first fastener to the second male coupling portion by engaging athreaded portion of the second male coupling portion with a threadedportion of the first fastener.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: inserting a ridge of the first male coupling portion into agroove of the first female coupling portion.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein rigidly coupling the first bone plate module with the secondbone plate module includes rigidly coupling the first bone plate modulewith the second bone plate module such that a bottom surface of thesecond bone plate module is aligned with a bottom surface of the firstbone plate module, the bottom surfaces configured to be placed on thesurface of the bone.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:aligning a third male coupling portion of a third bone plate module witha second female coupling portion of the first bone plate module;compressing a second taper of the third male coupling portion; insertingthe compressed second taper into the second female coupling portion;rigidly coupling the first bone plate module with the third bone platemodule; placing the rigidly coupled first bone plate module and thirdplate module on the surface of the bone; inserting a portion of a secondfastener through a third female coupling portion of the third boneplate; and attaching the rigidly coupled first bone plate module andthird plate module to the surface of the bone with the second fastener.17. The method of claim 11, further comprising: aligning a third malecoupling portion of a first bone plate end cap with a second femalecoupling portion of the first bone plate module; compressing a secondtaper of the third male coupling portion; inserting the compressedsecond taper into the second female coupling portion; and rigidlycoupling the first bone plate module with the first bone plate end cap.18. The method of claim 17, wherein rigidly coupling the first boneplate module with the first bone plate end cap includes rigidly couplingthe first bone plate module with the first bone plate end cap such thata bottom surface of the first bone plate end cap is aligned with abottom surface of the first bone plate module, the bottom surfacesconfigured to be placed on the surface of the bone.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising: aligning a third female coupling portionof a second bone plate end cap with a fourth male coupling portion ofthe second bone plate module; compressing a third taper of the fourthmale coupling portion; inserting the compressed third taper into thethird female coupling portion; and rigidly coupling the second boneplate module with the second bone plate end cap such that a top surfaceof the second bone plate module is aligned with a top surface of thesecond bone plate end cap.
 20. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising positioning a recessed area of the second bone plate moduleadjacent the first female coupling portion relative to a plateau areasurrounding the first male coupling portion of the first bone platemodule.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising positioning aconcave curved outer perimeter of an end of the second bone plate moduleadjacent the first female coupling portion adjacent to an inwardlycurved wall of the first bone plate module adjacent the male couplingportion, wherein a curvature of the outer perimeter of the end of thesecond bone plate module is complimentary to a curvature of the inwardlycurved wall of the first bone plate module.
 22. A method of constructinga bone plate comprising: determining a desired angular alignment of afirst bone plate module relative to a second bone plate module;positioning the first and second bone plate modules at the desiredangular alignment while aligning a first male coupling portion of thefirst bone plate module with a first female coupling portion of a secondbone plate module; compressing a first taper of the first male couplingportion; inserting the compressed first taper into the first femalecoupling portion such that a ridge of the first male coupling portion isreceived into a groove of the first female coupling portion; maintainingthe first bone plate module at the desired angular alignment whilerigidly coupling the first bone plate module with the second bone platemodule such that a bottom surface of the first bone plate module isaligned with a bottom surface of the second bone plate module; placingthe rigidly coupled first bone plate module and second bone plate moduleon a surface of a bone such that the bottom surfaces of the bone platemodule are placed on the surface of the bone; inserting a portion of afirst fastener through a second male coupling portion of the second boneplate module; locking the first fastener to the second male couplingportion by engaging a threaded portion of the second male couplingportion with a threaded portion of the first fastener; and attaching therigidly coupled first bone plate module and second bone plate module tothe surface of the bone with the first fastener.